Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said to plot China comeback with “shared kitchen” business – SCMP
What happened: Travis Kalanick, former CEO of Uber, is reportedly planning to bring US-based shared kitchen business CloudKitchens to China. Kalanick invested $150 million last year in CloudKitchens’ holding company. He made the investment through his 10100 investment fund, which he set up after stepping down as Uber’s CEO. Kalanick has been working with Zhang Yanqi, the former COO of embattled bike-rental company Ofo, for the past few months on the shared kitchen project.
Why it’s important: The concept of shared kitchens started gaining traction in China in 2016, riding the wave of the sharing economy’s popularity. CloudKitchens, also referred to as the “kitchen version of WeWork,” could face competition from Chinese counterparts like Panda Selected and Jike Alliance. The shared kitchen company would be Kalanick’s latest attempt to enter the country after Uber China was acquired by Didi in 2016.